Determining Hurricane-Induced CO2 Flux in the South Atlantic Bight
Sponsor: SECOORA's Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars Award
Collaborators
Ocean Scholars Award given to Laura McGee, Ph.D. student in OOMG.
Funding Period
August 2018 – July 2019
Description
This project is supported by the Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars Award. This award supports a graduate student in the southeast U.S. to honor the legacy of SECOORA’s friend and colleague.
The South Atlantic Bight has seen an increase in frequency and duration of tropical cyclones over the last few decades, and the impact of cyclones on air-sea CO2 flux is not well understood. This project seeks to better understand marine physical-biogeochemical interactions during storm conditions by creating a satellite-derived oceanic pCO2 dataset using a machine learning algorithm, then using that dataset to statistically determine the variability of sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a, and pCO2 flux caused by tropical cyclone maximum sustained wind speed and translation speed. The air-sea CO2 flux will be determined. The resulting improved understanding of marine physical-biogeochemical interactions and carbon cycling during storm conditions will enable us to develop better models to predict impacts of tropical cyclones and climate change on the regional marine ecosystems to better serve a variety of stakeholders in the southeast United States.
Results
Presentation: “Investigation of marine physical-biogeochemical interactions during storm conditions,” by Ph.D. student Laura McGee. At the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Bight Physical Oceanography and Meteorology Meeting.
